Bohemian Rhapsody: Bryan Singer To Receive Director Credit

Bohemian Rhapsody will reportedly credit Bryan Singer as the director. Singer, who will mark his first feature-length directorial effort since 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse, was fired from Bohemian Rhapsody late last year after production was momentarily halted due to his unexpected absence. Perhaps not coincidentally, this happened around the same time that allegations against him came out in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. After he was fired, Singer faced a lawsuit on allegations he raped a teenager.

But despite the troubling accusations leveled against Singer, that reportedly won't affect his status as the director for Bohemian Rhapsody. He shot most of the movie before Eddie the Eagle director Dexter Fletcher came aboard to finish it. New reports suggest that there will be no battle for the director's credit, as Singer's name will remain on the bill.

As reported by Collider on Tuesday, the newest issue of Empire contains fresh details on Bohemian Rhapsody, including that Singer will be credited as the film's director. Although Fletcher could have made a case to get the credit, he declined, previously remarking that he simply wanted to make sure the movie got finished. Producer Graham King cited "personal issues" for Singer as to why he had to leave the movie, and while Singer wanted to put the project on hiatus, it ultimately had to be finished in a more timely manner. Here's how King described it, per Collider:

“Bryan Singer is the credited director of the film. Basically, Bryan had some personal issues going on. He wanted to hiatus the movie to deal with them, and the movie had to get finished. That was what it came down to… It wasn’t about reinventing the wheel. We needed someone who would have some creative freedom, but work inside a box. [Fletcher] did us a real favor.”

King added that Fletcher shot about 16 days worth of footage to complete the movie, which would explain why the producers felt it had gotten to the point that it just needed to be finished. Singer released a statement in December saying that his sudden departure from the movie was to tend to "pressing health matters" with one of his parents. But just days after his statement was released, news dropped that the director is facing a lawsuit claiming he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old boy in 2003.

It's unknown whether Singer's dismissal from Bohemian Rhapsody is related to the lawsuit, and it's possible that Singer's issues with his parents' health can coexist with that story. But the lawsuit simply has to be mentioned in this case, especially considering the timing of it all. Still, for now, the lawsuit is not going to change anything in terms of Singer's credit as director of the movie. It surely helps Singer that Fletcher wasn't interested in gaining the credit himself.

Singer, of course, is far from out of the woods as it relates to his sexual assault suit. It's not the first or only allegation against the director, either. If he ends up losing the suit or being arrested on any one of the disturbing accusations, perhaps changes would be in store for 20th Century Fox. But for now, expect Singer's passion project Bohemian Rhapsody to have his name on it when it's released.